After the Kiss
by purplecloak9
Summary: Ginny can't believe Harry kissed her, but throughout the night and day after she realizes she wasn't, in fact, dreaming.


_Harry Potter kissed me! Harry Potter kissed me! Harry _Potter kissed _me! _Harry _Potter_ kissed Ginny _Weasley._ What happened, you ask? _Harry Potter kissed me!_

Ginny Weasley lay in bed, too wired to sleep. She replayed the moment in the common room over and over again, wondering at how Harry Potter had the power to provoke these feelings in her. She felt giddy, remembering the feel of his soft lips on hers, the way he clutched her to him tightly, the dizzy look in his green eyes as he gestured to the portrait hole.

She couldn't sleep. _"I'll never sleep again,"_ she said fervently, to no one in particular.

"That's a lovely plan," called a sleepy Demelza from the next bed over. "But seeing as I have no such resolution, I'd appreciate it if you shut up."

Involuntarily, Ginny giggled. "Demelza?"

Her friend groaned, rolling over in bed. Both girls slept with their curtains open, a habit formed after Ginny's frequent nightmares over the Department of Mysteries incident. She didn't have them anymore, but the first few months of the term and the last weeks of the last term she'd woken almost every night screaming. The other girls in her year had taken to performing silencing charms over their beds, but Demelza always climbed into Ginny's bed to comfort her.

Ginny slipped out of her bed, sitting on the edge of Demelza's four poster. "Dee?"

The brunette shoved her head under the pillow. "Go 'way Gin."

Shaking her, Ginny asked, "Did that really happen?"

"Did what happen?"

Ginny snorted. "I know you're sleepy Demelza, but seriously, you're being incredibly thick."

"'scuse me, it's only four in the morning!"

"Did Harry _Potter_ really kiss me in front of the entire Gryffindor house?" The disbelief was evident in her tone.

"Yes, Ginny, he did."

"And then he asked if I would be his girlfriend?"

"Yes, that happened too. You helped win the Quidditch cup, saved McGonagall's precious trophy, and kissed Harry, the love of your young life. You are now his girlfriend. With that out of the way, kindly shut your trap and go to sleep."

"I'm afraid," Ginny whispered.

This caught Dee's attention. "Why's that? Are you having nightmares again?"

She shook her head. "No, but what if it was all a dream? What we aren't even really having this conversation and it's all – "

"I wish we weren't having this conversation right now," muttered Dee, burying her head again in her pillow.

"What if it's all in my subconscious? What if I've dreamt the whole entire day! What if I wake up and we haven't even played the game yet? I wake up and Harry hasn't even kissed me!"

"Gin, you have some serious issues. He kissed you, okay? I saw it. So if you're dreaming, then I'm dreaming. And trust me, my dreams aren't this uncomfortable or vivid."

"I still think I may be dreami- OUCH! What was that for?"

Dee giggled. "You wanted to make sure you were awake; I just pinched you. That way you can go back to sleep."

Ginny thought for a second, then jumped from the bed. "Thanks, Dee, quick thinking!"

OoOoOoO

Ginny Weasley moved into the corridor cautiously the next morning. It seemed odd that she hadn't come across anyone in the common room, nor in the Great Hall. At least if she'd run into a group of giggling fourth years she would have _known_ the kiss with Harry had been real.

The Great Hall was bustling as usual, and with a start, Ginny realized the reason she hadn't run into anyone was because she was over twenty minutes late to breakfast, and everyone was up ahead of her, all except Demelza, who was recovering from the combination of Quidditch, after party, and Ginny's irrational intrusion upon her sleep.

And striding evenly over to the Gryffindor table, she saw him. He was munching contentedly on his toast, looking scrumptious. Ron and Hermione sat across from him, and it looked as though Ron was fine with his best mate dating his sister. Her gaze fell to the bench beside Harry, which was occupied by his book bag. _Is he saving that spot for me?_ She wondered incredulously.

Determined to pull herself together, she was her usual confident self by the time she made her way to the table. She crept up behind Harry, hearing the last bit of his conversation. Ron was still absorbed in Harry's speech, while Hermione looked at Ginny with a smug smile on her face.

"I'm telling you, mate, the Cannons will win the World Cup when I lick Voldie's saggy – "

She bent down, hovering above his left ear. "I didn't know you swung that way, Potter."

He turned and grinned at her, pulling her in for a kiss that tasted strongly of marmalade, provoking a shout from Ron.

"Oi! I didn't come to breakfast to see you two snogging!"

"Get used to it," Ginny muttered. Harry hastily banished his bag, pulling her down to sit next to him. Ron coaxed him back into Quidditch conversation, a talk Ginny participated in vaguely.

No, her attention was now diverted to the open mouthed expressions on every person in the Great Hall, save the teachers. Dumbledore raised his goblet of iced pumpkin juice to her, and then returned to his copy of _Transfiguration Today_, McGonagall looking over at it enviously.

The Slytherin table was a mess muttering of 'Blood traitors breeding," while a few girls at the Hufflepuff table burst into tears, Hannah Abbott being one of the loudest. Ginny couldn't decipher the look Cho Chang was throwing her, but it wasn't a friendly one. Looking back at her own table, she saw a sullen Dean, sitting with Seamus, who was obviously trying to cheer his mate up.

Ginny watched as the two got up and left the Great Hall, going, she guessed, to their regular Sunday hangout – the Quidditch bleachers.

With a brief kiss for Harry and a promise to meet him in the common room at noon, Ginny rose and followed Dean out of the room.

She felt bad about how things had gone between them. Dean had always been sweet and affectionate with her, something that had been a drastic change from the coldness of her former Ravenclaw boyfriend, Michael Corner. Dean was a true Gryffindor: fiery and impulsive. She'd had a lot of fun in the early days of their relationship, trying to anticipate the next time he would pull her, unsuspectingly, between classes into an abandoned corridor and snog her senseless.

His hair was rough and unfamiliar in texture, his hands and lips soft, despite all the abuse from his sports; football, rugby, and Quidditch. They loved the same band, VAMP, a hard rock wizard infusion of a vampire and his magical parrot which had been bewitched to sing lead vocals. The Ministry was trying to find out if the whole act was legal, but the band had a huge teenage following, including the Minister's niece.

She felt bad about breaking up with Dean, almost.

Sure, he was the best boyfriend she'd ever had, to date. Oh, she was positive Harry would break that record easily, but they hadn't been an official item twelve hours. Harry was an amazing kisser, and the way his smile made her want to jump for joy was vaguely ridiculous, but still, Dean had gotten her through some rough times. She felt guilty for rebuffing his advances toward reconciliation so publicly by snogging Harry, but she was embarrassed to admit her brain had shut down the minute Harry's lips crashed down her hers.

The air was frigid at the pitch, but she trudged on. She'd long since lost sight of the boys, but she thought she could just make out the ring of Seamus' Irish accent.

The boys were sitting on the bottom bench, facing away from her. She slipped up the rickety wooden steps, keeping as silent as she could.

"Honestly, mate, she isn't worth it! Me mam, a redhead herself, always said never fool with one. She's devilish."

"No she isn't," Dean replied, stubbornly. "I'm in love with her."

"Yeah, well, the bloody Boy Who Lived ruined that, didn't he? You might as well get used to the fact that Ginny Weasley isn't as perfect as everyone thinks she is. How long did she wait after that Corner bloke to go after you? She's a slag, mate, admit it!"

"Yes, Dean, admit it," snarled Ginny from her hiding place.

Seamus was white as a ghost. "Hullo, Ginny."

"Back away. Quickly," she ordered, her teeth clenched. "Get away before you have Bat Bogies come out of your arse."

He did as she bid, muttering a hasty goodbye to Dean.

"You shouldn't have done that, Gin," Dean sighed. "He doesn't really think that; you know he adores you."

"Didn't sound like it," she said, taking Seamus' seat on the bench.

"He was trying to cheer me up."

She grimaced. "That was actually my reason for coming. I wanted to see where we are after last night."

"I had confessed my love for you not five minutes after the match. Then you blew me off to get to the celebration and when we get back to the common room you snog Harry Potter in front of everyone. I don't think that leaves us anywhere."

She dropped her head. "You knew how I felt about Harry. If you didn't, you wouldn't have been so jealous when we were seeing each other."

"Of bloody course I was jealous! I'd be an idiot if I wasn't upset by the fact that Harry bleeding Potter, the boy who has everything in the world he wants, set his sights on _my_ girlfriend of all people!"

Ginny, who had been trying to be sympathetic, felt her anger flare. "That is the reason we aren't together anymore, Dean. I'm not your damn property! Yes, Harry fancied me while I was dating you, but I'd like to think I'm more trustworthy then someone who'd go off snogging someone else, even Harry Potter, when I was with you."

"I never thought you would do something like that," he mumbled.

"Then what was there to be jealous about?"

"I'm a bloke, Ginny! I don't need to think you want him for me to be jealous! But, like you said before, I knew how you felt about him. Your brothers are always going on about how much you loved Harry when you were little. And to be honest, it's always been easy to see you never got over that crush."

"No, I didn't," she agreed. "But I was with you, and your jealousy didn't do anything but make me enjoy Harry's confidence even more."

"So why are you here if you like him so much? Should you be off with him in some abandoned corridor?"

"I came here to end things with you properly, you git! We were finished yesterday, but I guess I never really answered your proposal."

He frowned. "I think your tongue was a little busy at that moment."

"I'm glad you can be so mature about all of this," she said sarcastically.

"I love you, Ginny Weasley, and you're dating another guy. How am I supposed to behave?"

She shook her head. "You don't love me Dean. Love is…I can't explain it, really, but what we had isn't love."

"And you love Potter?"

She thought about it. "I don't know yet. I think he's wonderful, and I've always cared about him."

"I think you love him," Dean prodded. "I've never seen you run towards someone so enthusiastically. And I think Potter loves you too."

Inwardly, Ginny thought it was unlikely Harry had thought farther than snogging her, but she didn't want to tell Dean about it. First, it was most likely her well-hidden insecurities playing tricks on her, and second, she didn't want to give Dean any opportunity of wheedling her back into a relationship. Dean possessed many good qualities, but one of his worst traits was his ability to make girls, particularly Ginny, see things his way. He was an amazing debater, and any way he spun things seemed the only way. In the early days of their relationship she'd told him he should work at the _Prophet_ in politics.

"We've been dating going on nine hours. So, if you're okay, I'll be going back to the common room." She watched him probingly.

"I'm fine," he murmured, eyeing her lips. "Anyway, I should find Seamus. He's probably shitting his pants scared of you right now."

She laughed, patting him on the arm. "Tell him I said I'm sorry. But if I ever hear him say anything like that again I'll have to make good on my threat."

"No one ever disregards your threats, Gin-Gin. You scare the hell out of everyone."

She cocked an eyebrow. "I've never heard you say that before."

His booming laugh set her at ease. Perhaps they'd find their way back to friendship, the way they were supposed to be. "I couldn't very well say how difficult you were when we were dating. You're a pain in the ass, Weasley, but also an amazing snogger. I didn't want to lose my privileges."

"You're such a git," she said fondly.

OoOoOo

It was almost twelve thirty by the time Ginny made it back to Gryffindor tower. Harry was sitting by the fire alone, most of the house gone to Hogsmeade or doing last minute homework. She dropped onto the floor beside him, accepting his hello kiss gratefully.

"Where are Ron and Hermione?"

He brushed her hair with his hand. "They went to Hogsmeade together. I'm counting the days until they confess their undying love for one another."

"Hermione's been mad for him for ages," Ginny answered, cuddling closer to his side.

"Ron, too. I think it may have been during second year when he realized it, though."

Her face darkened naturally at the mention of her first year at Hogwarts, but she brushed it aside. Harry would never intentionally hurt her that way. "I imagine seeing her petrified really put his little crush in perspective."

"I like this," he whispered, throwing his arm around her shoulders.

"What?"

He shrugged. "Just being close to you, not having to make up an excuse to look at you."

"Such a charmer, Potter," she snorted.

"It comes naturally," he said happily.

"Harry Potter is my boyfriend," she announced, unable to contain the words once she thought them.

"Ginny Weasley is my girlfriend," he echoed, bending down to give her a brief, sweet kiss.

_Harry Potter kissed me! _Harry _Potter_ kissed Ginny _Weasley. Harry_ Potter _kissed Ginny _Weasley!

Harry Potter kissed me!


End file.
